, 1887-12-16
HART IN HIS OWN DEFENSE.
What He Has to Say Regarding the
Grand Jury Report.
To the Editor of TheLLeader.

To the Editor of The! Leader.
Fort LARAMIE, Wyo., Dec. 13.-The
report of tho grand jury to the present
term of court censures me for neglect of
duty upon two occasions, and as great
injustice is done me by the action of the
grand jury, | have to request you to pub
lish the following true statement of the
matters in your widely read paper:
| am first censured for refusing to issue
a warrant for the arrest of the persons
charged with the murder of one Rice in
March last. Upon what evidence the
grand jury based its action L, of course,
do not know, but l can hardly believe
that anyone would be so bold as to testify
under oath that | refused to issue a war
rant in that case, as such evidence would
be willful and deliberate perjury. I am
therefore forced to believe that the grand
jury has listened to false and malicious
statements, made by personal enemies for
selfish purposes, without the sanction Of
an oath, and with full knowledge that
they were running no risk of a prosecution
for their falsehoods.
The fact is that upon the disappearance
Of Rice L, as Justice of the reace, went to
the scene of the supposed homicide and
investigated all the circumstances as thor
oughly as possible. As the body could not
be found and no one would make
a complaint as required by law
and it was not certain that a
homicide had been committed, [ did
not issue a warrant for the arrest
of anyone. As l was not in possession Of
sufficient evidence to hold any one for
the crime, and did not know where or
how | was to get it. 1 did not conceive
that it was my duty to issue a criminal
warrant OF the highest nature upon mere
gossip, and that was all L had. / was in
frequent and constant communication
with parties who took the l%ivellest interest
in discovering the murderers, if there
were any, including the prosecuting attor-
ney, and received neither an order nor a
request from anyone to issue a warrant
for the arrest of any one in connection
with the homicide. If, under these cir
cumstances, with a grave doubt ~pervading
the neighborhood as to whether Rice had
been killed or not, | should have, of my
own motion, issued a warrant for the ar
rest of citizens charging them with muir
der, when | knew that | had no evidence
upon which to hold them, then | am
guilty of neglect of duty as charged by
the grand jury.
[ hardly think anyone would censure
me upon this state of facts, and therefore
conclude that the grand jury was imposed
upon by some designing, lying scoundrel,
whose purpose was not to bring merited
censure upon a delinquent public officer,
but to crafty personal malice under cover
Of the sanctity and secresy of the grand
Jury room.
In regard to the other case of VIM.
Moore, l have only to say that when the
keeper of the brothel. Henry Ritterling,
reported the assault to me, L asked him
to make an affidavit as to the crime, so
that | might issue a warrant for the ar
rest Of Moore, and he declined to do so.
l repeated the request; and told him it
was his duty to make the affidavit, but he
still refused to do so. As | did not I'M
derstand that the woman was in any i'm
mediate danger of dying, | did not
think it incumbent upon me 10 90 to the
ranch, nor do think so yet. Respectful
ly. B. A. HART.